Campaign for safe crossing outside Horsham primary school

Year 10 Students Arianne Puttock and Hayley Pope from Millais School are campaigning for a pedestrian crossing on Kings Road near Kingslea Primary School. Pic Steve Robards SR1612574 SUS-160305-171516001

Published:07:00Friday 06 May 2016

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A group of campaigning teenagers have called for a safe pedestrian crossing on a busy road outside a primary school in Horsham.

The Year 10 students from Millais School argue that there is no obviously safe place to cross the road, used regularly by parents, schoolchildren and their younger siblings.

Arianne Puttock, Hayley Pope, Francesca Bull and Chloe Bleach have organised the campaign as part of their Citizenship GCSE.

Arianne said: “Anyone who has ever needed to cross Kings Road, Horsham in recent times will know that doing so can be risky and stressful.

“We decided the idea of installing a pedestrian crossing on Kings Road was the obvious choice for our campaign and it seems local residents agree.”

They conducted a survey online and via leaflets, which showed that the community back their campaign.

It found that 96 per cent of respondents thought there were safety issues on Kings Road for pedestrians and/or drivers and 97.4 per cent said a crossing would be beneficial.

Arianne added that research by the group revealed there had been eight traffic incidents on Kings Road between 2005 and 2014.

Their campaign has attracted the attention of county councillor Morwen Millson, who said a crossing would be ‘valuable’.

She said: “The head and governors of Kingslea School first requested a crossing facility close to the school some years ago. Unfortunately, West Sussex County Council has not yet been able to fund a crossing, though I think a crossing in Kings Road would be valuable.

“It would help many people who use the road, whether to reach the school, or for walking or using the bus to get to the town centre.

“I was very impressed by the campaign being run by the students, as they have both identified a need and generated the support of many Kingslea parents, as well as local residents.”

The team plans to contact West Sussex Highways and have urged anyone who supports the campaign to sign an online petition.